Daffodil remembers World War I Battle

A brand new daffodil will bloom into life next spring to commemorate a key battle of the First World War.

The Gallipoli Dawn, created in honour of those who fought in the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915, has been 21 years in the making by Cornwall grower Ron Scamp.

Mr Scamp and his family, from Falmouth, grow 3,000 varieties of daffodil and he made a start on the Gallipoli Dawn in 1992.

He said: “I made the first ‘cross’ of this daffodil in 1992, it first flowered in 1997 and it usually takes another six to 12 years to develop to a commercial variety.

“This daffodil is an all-yellow, strong growing variety for the garden and has already won prizes in exhibition. When the Gallipoli Association approached me and asked me if I had a variety that could be named for the centenary commemoration I was deeply honoured.”

Gallipoli Dawn will be sold at three for £12, but only 200 bulbs will be available for sale this year.

Mr Scamp will make a donation from every sale to the association, and Lyn Edmonds, executive officer for the association’s G100 centenary committee, said the funds will be used to take British schoolchildren to the battlefields in what is modern-day Turkey where 60,000 Allied lives were lost.